Matthew Abeles is the co-founder and managing director of BuiltWorlds Media, an online media and events company that burst onto the scene in 2014. Follow him @mattyabeles or @builtworlds.
Who is your hero? (In business, life, or both.)
My hero in business would probably be my first mentor, Michael Silver. He introduced me to the excitement of the entrepreneurial world. He was a 2008-2009 Entrepreneur of the Year winner for his sale of Equis, which was later sold to UGL, then DTZ, and is now merged with Cushman & Wakefield. I ran his family office after the sale of his company.
My hero in life is my father, Randy Abeles. His drive and competitive nature to succeed in all he does are the reasons I have been successful in all of my endeavors to date. The 5 a.m. workouts every day and working at all hours have rubbed off on me in a big way. At 61 years old, he just marked three years in a row of working out for at least 90 minutes every single day.
What’s the single best piece of business advice (unorthodox tips welcome!) that helped shape who you are as an entrepreneur today, and why?
The willingness to work harder than anybody else for an unknown reward is something you must be up for if you want to succeed in a young business. I believe having a competitive nature in everything from sports to sales has been at the root of why I have been able to thrive in an unknown business.
What’s the biggest mistake you ever made in your business, and what did you learn from it that others can learn from too?
Hire slow and fire fast. As a young business, we did not practice these traits and had a lot of turnover early on because of it. Now we have a much more rigorous process in place, as we had hired poorly in sales, accounting and social media early on.
What do you do during the first hour of your business day and why?
I answer emails. This is because I’m typically in meetings for most hours of the day.
What’s your best financial/cash-flow related tip for entrepreneurs just getting started?
If you are passionate about what you do, the money will come — I promise!
Quick: What’s ONE thing you recommend ALL aspiring or current entrepreneurs do right now to take their biz to the next level?
Utilize your network and never underestimate the power of quality relationships.
What’s your definition of success? How will you know when you’ve finally “succeeded” in your business?
Being able to grow and prove a concept at a young stage so well that you can compete with leaders in your respective industry. Everyone is always improving what their definition of success looks like. It’s important to have many small and large goals on your journey. As you keep hitting those, success will come.
